Greece’s president K. Papoulias is to convene a meeting between the country’s embattled prime minister and the head of the main opposition party in an attempt to broker power-sharing talks and find a way out of a severe political crisis, as pressure mounts to ensure the country avoids bankruptcy.
The president’s office said the meeting would be held at 8:30 p.m. (1830GMT) Sunday with the premier, George Papandreou, and opposition head Antonis Samaras.
George Papandreou said he would not head a new coalition government, which could be agreed with the opposition as early as Sunday, a statement from his office said.
“It is clear that this government will pass the baton but it will not pass it to a void — it will pass it to a new government, if we agree on it, and I hope this will happen soon. And when I say soon, I mean today, not tomorrow,” he said in the text of remarks to his cabinet, released to the media.
“I’m not interested in being prime minister in the new government,” he added.
Papandreou also told his cabinet elections should not be held before February or March, after a euro zone bailout is approved by parliament.
(source: AP, Reuters)
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
